A picture of a motivated but stubborn young man is emerging from Chelsea, Vt. as the local and national communities grapple with many yet unresolved questions about the alleged teenage murderers.
Tyler Smith-Strutz, who has debated against Robert Tulloch this year and last, called the accused murderer "very intelligent," "very driven" and "always cool and collected."
And Kip Battey, Tulloch's longtime friend and classmate, who was questioned Sunday by investigators, called him "edgy," stubborn and sometimes cocky.
He described Tulloch as an academic standout: "He could write a four page essay in under an hour. He was famous for that just wiping them off and getting a better grade than the majority of the class."
Battey said he was surprised by his friend's behavior at his extradition hearing yesterday.
The shackled Tulloch, who was surrounded by multiple police officers, decided not to fight extradition, which means New Hampshire authorities will accompany him back to the Hanover area today.
"It didn't seem quite characteristic because he likes to argue a lot," Battey said. He explained that Tulloch was firm in his decisions -- he did not pick fights in the traditional sense.
Even though Tulloch is talented in many subjects at school, according to Battey as well as Paul Callens, who has taught him in multiple courses, Battey said Tulloch "didn't think highly of the educational standard."
Fall semester this year Tulloch did not take any classes and only came into school once in a while -- usually at lunchtime -- according to another of his close friends Casey Purcell, who was also questioned by investigators.
Battey said it is not uncommon for students at Chelsea Public School to have finished most of the credits they need to graduate by the time they reach their senior year in high school. But he said it is rare for students to take no classes at all.
"I think he was the only one who wasn't taking any classes," he said. "It's normal for seniors to take a light load, but not that light. Usually if you take no classes, you just decide to graduate early, but he didn't."
Battey said Tulloch had decided not to apply to college, even though he seemed like a good candidate.
"I tried to convince Robert to apply to college all the time," Battey said. "He didn't really like the idea of spending four years at college ... he just kind of talked his way out of it."
Battey could not place a finger on Tulloch's personality. He said he "wasn't unpopular," but he couldn't call him well liked. He acknowledged that some in the community might see him as a bully, but he said Tulloch never acted physically violent. He called him funny, and said he has a "dry and witty" sense of humor.
Smith-Strutz, who debated against Tulloch, said he only knew Tulloch in the context of competition, but said he was "funny" and "congenial."
Battey said Tulloch went through many phases: "We used to talk about politics," he said, describing Tulloch as liberal politically.
And during the past year, Tulloch and his alleged accomplice, James Parker, have gone through a laundry list of hobbies. Last spring, the two experimented with river rafting. In the summer, they moved on to paint ball, but quickly discovered that no one else was interested in playing and switched over to rock climbing.
Battey said an affinity for computers has been a constant throughout Tulloch's life.
"He was the one you talked to if you had a problem with your computer," Battey said, explaining that Tulloch played games and knew what to do if a fan broke or if the machine needed new hardware.
Battey has seen Tulloch a few times since the Jan. 27 Zantop murders.
"He's normally very verbose," he said. "He still talked, but he seemed a little bit withdrawn. I just thought he was a little quieter."
Battey said he didn't question Tulloch's unusual quietness -- he figured that he was in trouble for not telling his family before he left town on the last day of January with Parker, apparently to go rock climbing in the Rocky Mountains.
When the pair arrived home, Tulloch was limping, and told his friends that he had a bad cut on his leg that was being treated with antibiotics.
"Robert told me he came back because his leg had gotten so infected that it hurt too much and they had to come back,"
The last time Battey saw Tulloch was last Wednesday, before Tulloch fled from Chelsea with Parker. The friends went to see the movie "Traffic."
On Thursday, Tulloch and Parker were questioned and fingerprinted by New Hampshire investigators. They disappeared soon after.
Battey said when his friends heard Tulloch and Parker were wanted in connection with the murders, he was shocked.
"I don't think that they could have committed a crime like people are saying they did," he said. "That just seems totally out of character."
Battey said students who did not know Tulloch and Parker well have been gossiping and speculating for the past two days, but he said school is going on as usual.
Battey's father, Ned, a member of the school board for about 13 years, told The Dartmouth yesterday afternoon, "It's a normal school day and classes are on schedule."
